Jiaqing Emperor

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Jiaqing Emperor bigraphy, stories - Qing dynasty emperor

Jiaqing Emperor : biography

13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820

The Jiaqing Emperor (Chia-ching Emperor; ; Mongolian: Sayishiyaltu Yirugertu Khaan, 13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820) was the seventh emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1796 to 1820.

He was the son of the Qianlong Emperor. During his reign, he prosecuted Heshen (和珅) (the corrupt favourite of Qianlong) and attempted to restore the state and curb the smuggling of opium inside China.

Early years

He was born at the Old Summer Palace (圆明园/圓明園), 8 km (5 mi) northwest of the walls of Beijing, and was given the name Yongyan (永琰), changed into Yongyan (顒琰) when he became emperor: the first character of his private name was changed from 永 to 顒, both pronounced Yong, as the former is used commonly. This novelty was introduced by his father the Qianlong Emperor who thought it not proper to use a common character in the Emperor’s private name due to the long-standing practice of naming taboo.

He was the fifteenth son of the Qianlong Emperor. His mother was a Han Chinese concubine of the second rank Ling (令贵妃/令貴妃), who became a favorite of the Emperor. She was posthumously made Empress Xiaoyichun (孝仪纯皇后/孝儀純皇后) when her son became emperor. She was the daughter of Wei Qingtai (魏清泰), an official in the Qing administration whose Han Chinese family had long been integrated in the Manchu elites. In 1818 Jiaqing Emperor made his mother’s family officially Manchu, and changed their Chinese family name Wei into the Manchu clan name Weigiya.

After the first two original choices for heir to the throne succumbed early to disease, in December 1773 Yongyan was secretly chosen by the Qianlong Emperor to succeed him. In 1789 he was made Prince of the 1st rank Jia (嘉亲王/嘉親王).

At the end of his reign, the Qianlong Emperor worked closely with a Manchu government minister called Heshen. Prince Jia hated the notoriously corrupt Heshen for his abuse of power, and vowed to punish the minister once he became Emperor.

Accession to the throne

In October 1795, in the 60th year of his reign, the Qianlong Emperor announced his intention to abdicate in favor of Prince Jia: he did not think it proper to rule longer than his grandfather, the late Kangxi Emperor. Prince Jia acceded to the throne and proclaimed the era name of Jiaqing (Chinese: 嘉慶; Manchu: saicungga fengšen) in February 1796. For the next three years however, Jiaqing ruled as Emperor in name only. Decisions were made by his father, the Retired Emperor Qianlong.

With the death of his father at the beginning of February 1799, the Jiaqing Emperor took control of the government and prosecuted Heshen. Heshen was charged with corruption and abuse of power. He was stripped of his titles and properties, and ordered to commit suicide. Heshen’s daughter-in-law, Princess He Xiao, a sister of the new Emperor, was spared from punishment and given a few properties from Heshen’s estates.

At the time the empire faced internal disorder, most importantly the large-scale White Lotus (1796–1804) and Miao Rebellions (1795–1806), as well as an empty treasury. Emperor Jiaqing engaged in the pacification of the empire and the quelling of rebellions. He endeavored to bring China back to its 18th-century prosperity and power. However, due in part to large outflows of silver from the country as payment for the opium smuggled into China from British India, the economy declined.

Court intrigues and incidents

Members of the Qing royal family tried to assassinate him twice – in 1803 and in 1813. The princes involved in the attempts on his life were executed. Other members of the imperial family, numbering in the hundreds, were exiled.

Opposition to Christianity

The Great Qing Code includes one statute titled "Prohibitions Concerning Sorcerers and Sorceresses" (禁止師巫邪術). In 1811 a clause was added to it with reference to Christianity. It was modified in 1815 and 1817, settled in its final form in 1839 under the Daoguang Emperor, and abrogated in 1870 under the Tongzhi Emperor. It sentenced Europeans to death for spreading Catholicism among Chinese and Manchus. Christians who would not repent their conversion were sent to Muslim cities in Xinjiang, to be given as slaves to Muslim leaders and beys.